Chapter 79 - The Akatsuki Attacks

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"This ability, Kakuzu?"

Facing the sudden onslaught of fists, Itachi Uchiha was surprised but not panicked.

He had anticipated that the masked man, in order to kill him, would not only disrupt Kirigakure by exploiting the Kaguya clan's attack, but would also mobilize members of the Akatsuki organization.

As a former core member of Akatsuki, Itachi instantly recognized the owner of the thick black threads wrapped around the fist.

Kakuzu.

He was a ninja contemporary of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha.

Born in the Land of Waterfalls, he had once carried out a mission to assassinate the First Hokage, but failed.

The failure of the assassination wasn't surprising.

The truly incredible thing was that Kakuzu had managed to survive the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi, and lived to this day.

Itachi didn't have a detailed understanding of Kakuzu's abilities, but he knew that his longevity was sustained by constantly stealing the hearts of others.

Otherwise, even if he had lived to this day, at his age, he would have been a frail old man, having lost his former strength.

During this period, Itachi knew of only three members of Akatsuki who had not yet joined.

Besides Deidara, who, influenced by him, would likely not be recruited by Akatsuki, the remaining two were Hoshigaki Kisame of Kirigakure and Hidan of Yugakure.

Swish!

Kakuzu's fist shot toward Itachi at high speed, like a cannonball.

"Chi!"

Itachi's eyes trembled, and the attack slowed.

He tapped his toes on the ground and retreated half a body length, dodging Kakuzu's sudden attack.

"He actually dodged it!"

Kakuzu's surprised voice echoed through the mist.

Although he had learned from Pain that the Itachi before him was no ordinary brat, seeing was believing.

He had to confirm it for himself.

"He's indeed a problem."

Even with Kakuzu's experience, he had never heard of a ninja reaching this level of strength at the age of ten.

Even the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, hailed as the God of Shinobi by his generation, was no exception.

After dodging Kakuzu's attack, Itachi glanced sideways at the two Kaguya clan members charging at him like madmen.

He had initially considered retreating into Kirigakure, but with Kakuzu's appearance, he had to confront them with all his might.

Within Kirigakure, there were still Konoha's jōnin, including Shikaku Nara, Chōza Akimichi, and Inoichi Yamanaka, and Itachi didn't want to expose himself to so many people just yet.

So, Itachi changed his destination and headed toward the mountains surrounding Kirigakure.

The two Kaguya clan members following him tried to catch up, but a man from the clan, already closing in from behind, appeared at lightning speed and stopped them.

"Our goal is to attack Kirigakure. Don't worry about anyone else."

He had heard one of them say from behind that Itachi wasn't a ninja from Kirigakure.

"Yes, Clan Leader!"

The two Kaguya clan members turned their attention away from Itachi.

Kakuzu's figure was obscured by the fog.

Upon seeing Itachi leave, Kakuzu followed without a second thought.

The thick fog obscured Itachi's form, and though his Sharingan's vision was somewhat affected, Itachi could still see Kakuzu following him.

Neither of them rushed forward.

At their speed, they soon reached the foot of the nearest mountain.

"This should be about the right place," Itachi paused, ready to strike.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

As he paused, Kakuzu unleashed an extremely powerful Wind Release jutsu.

"Whoosh!"

A powerful gust of wind swept in, swiftly dispersing the thick fog.

"Such a powerful jutsu without even a hand seal!"

The force of the wind also weighed on Itachi's body, restricting his movement.

Itachi had been observing Kakuzu's movements and hadn't seen him form a hand seal.

"But this is all right," Itachi thought to himself, his eyes lowered.

He was deeply concerned about the situation of Shikaku and the others in Kirigakure.

Since the masked man had chosen this method to eliminate him, there was no reason for him to spare Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Chōza Akimichi, the pillars of Konohagakure today.

From his eyes, three magatama slowly spun, instantly linking together to form the patterns of a Mangekyō Sharingan.

Before his rebirth, Itachi rarely used his Mangekyō abilities against his enemies, primarily because using his eye techniques not only consumed chakra but, more seriously, drained his eye power, causing his vision to deteriorate.

But since Itachi's rebirth, not only has his Sharingan's eye power in its normal form increased, but when using the Mangekyō, beyond the normal chakra consumption, it has never been depleted.

Just now, due to his obstructed vision, his Mangekyō eye technique couldn't be used.

Now, Itachi decided to kill Kakuzu directly with his eye technique.

These members of the Akatsuki organization would sooner or later pose a huge threat to Konoha, so it would be better to deal with them here and now.

Just as Itachi focused his right eye on Kakuzu, preparing to unleash his eye technique, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Shuriken made of white origami suddenly shot from the sky behind him.

Itachi heard the noise, glanced at the sky, and immediately swung several shuriken with his backhand.

At this moment, Kakuzu, who was directly in front of Itachi, attacked again.

This time, his hands, hidden beneath his sleeves, were connected by thick black threads, and they blasted toward Itachi.

"She's here too."

With the perceptive power of his Mangekyō, Itachi, with a single glance, discerned the face of the person who had attacked him from behind.

She wore a white origami flower on her head, and behind her were enormous origami wings.

She was the only woman in Akatsuki, Konan!

So, faced with this front-and-back attack, which he could have avoided, Itachi decisively activated his eyes.

"Wow!"

The patterns in the Mangekyō solidified, and crimson chakra radiated from his pores, forming a miniature skeleton that enveloped his form.

"Haha, using Susanoo directly?"

Itachi followed the sound of the chuckle and gazed toward the sky in another direction.

In the sky, Pain's Deva Path hovered, his gaze looking down indifferently.

His violet eyes, shimmering with concentric circles, met Itachi's.

"You've really gone to such lengths to take my life!"

Itachi gazed at the Deva Path, his expression calm and composed.

"Uchiha Itachi, you…"

Pain was surprised because he couldn't see any fear in Itachi's eyes.

Itachi should be very aware of his situation.

He was facing three S-rank rogue ninjas.

Is he really not afraid of death?

...

"Let's stall for a while."

Itachi Uchiha stared at Pain's Deva Path and Konan in the air, his eyes trembling.

"Whoa!"

Suddenly, a richer crimson chakra burst out of his body.

The Susanoo, which had only protected him, rapidly grew more bones.

Facing three core members of Akatsuki at once, especially the leader among them, even at the peak of Itachi's power, he wouldn't have stood a chance against them.

The crimson Susanoo formed a complete skeleton, creating a protective barrier around Itachi's body.

But he wasn't going to resort to passive defense.

Susanoo raised its massive hand and slapped at Pain's Deva Path in the sky!

"Shinra Tensei!"

Seeing this, Pain's body shook slightly, and a terrifying repulsive force swept out.

"Bang!"

Susanoo collided with the repulsive force, erupting with tremendous power.

Meanwhile, within Kirigakure, not only Mei Terumi, Shikaku Nara, and the others, but many other Kirigakure ninjas were alerted by the explosion that had just occurred outside the village.

However, most still believed that the explosion was caused by Deidara, just as it had been during the day.

Mei Terumi was patrolling the village.

Just as she was about to head toward the explosion site to investigate, a massive steel spike suddenly shot out from directly in front of her.

This sudden attack within Kirigakure startled Mei Terumi slightly, but the spike's speed certainly couldn't hurt her.

With a whoosh, Mei Terumi had already vanished from the scene when the spike arrived.

Immediately afterward, the fog in the area began to thin.

This was Mei Terumi's technique: she could disperse it with a simple breath.

Kirigakure's Hiding in Mist Technique was a specialty of its ninjas, so dispersing the fog was no problem.

The thick fog quickly receded, and vision gradually cleared.

Mei Terumi raised her eyes and looked forward, only to see a figure huddled on the ground.

This was because the figure before her was too short, and Terumi couldn't even see his lower body.

This figure was extremely hideous and ferocious, his body veiled by a black robe emblazoned with a red cloud pattern.

Extending from his back was the very steel tail spike that had been used to launch the surprise attack on Terumi.

Even with Terumi's knowledge, she couldn't discern the man's identity.

However, one thing was certain: he was a formidable threat.

In Kirigakure, aside from the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, no one could approach Terumi without a sound.

Furthermore, with the level of security in Kirigakure, it would be difficult for spies from all over the world to infiltrate.

The fact that this man had entered the village without the ninjas' knowledge was a testament to his skill.

"Ka-ka."

Just as Terumi was contemplating the man's identity, the unsightly man suddenly opened his mouth wide.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

He placed a talisman between his lips, and immediately, a dense stream of long needles and spikes shot out.

Mei Terumi's eyes trembled at the sight:

"Puppet?!"

Swish, swish, swish!

Shikaku Nara, Kitsuchi, Baki, Dodai, and the others also fled their buildings at the same moment of the explosion.

"Sizzle!"

Flames flickered through the mist, ripping the air.

"Not good!"

Faced with the sudden attack, Kitsuchi of Iwagakure remained calm, forming hand seals.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

The ground before them trembled violently, and a thick earthen wall suddenly rose up.

"Boom!"

The next moment, the flaming object collided with the wall, exploding.

"What the hell is going on?" Dodai frowned.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

The wall continued to crack under heavy blows, then shattered.

Several sharp steel blades emerged from the shattered wall, piercing the group.

However, Shikaku and the others had already taken precautions, so they weren't easily caught, dodging the sharp blades one after another.

"Who is it?"

Baki of Sunagakure whispered.

He and the other jōnin beside him all looked in awe.

They were now in Kirigakure, and yet they were being attacked from unknown sources.

Within the mist, several figures gradually became clearer.

There were five of them, all wearing Akatsuki robes.

They were the five Pains besides the Deva Path.

But Baki, Dodai, and the others didn't recognize them.

"Akatsuki?"

But upon seeing the Akatsuki's signature black robes with a red cloud pattern, a jōnin from Iwagakure behind Kitsuchi blurted out.

"Akatsuki, the mercenary organization that specializes in wartime commissions?"

Baki exclaimed in surprise.

Those present were all high-ranking officials from various ninja villages, and their impression of Akatsuki was that of mercenaries who took on wars between smaller nations.

"They're here. Could someone be planning to attack Kirigakure?"

Dodai exclaimed in surprise.

Behind him, the young Kumo-nin, a female jōnin named Samui, stared at the Pains with a startled look in her eyes.

"Master Dodai, look at these guys' eyes!"

Everyone then noticed the Pains' Rinnegan.

"These eyes!"

Dodai and the others exclaimed in shock.

Nearby, Shikaku said gravely,

"Rinnegan! They're the Akatsuki Pains."

"Is this the Akatsuki leader the Fourth Hokage mentioned in the intelligence he relayed to the major powers?"

Kitsuchi said.

After Minato Namikaze had gathered and integrated Pain's intelligence, he generously disseminated it to the entire ninja world.

In his view, there was nothing to hide.

Pain and the masked man were secretly plotting activities that threatened the ninja world, and Pain's abilities were too unique.

The more people knew about his abilities, the more they would weaken Pain's power.

"Well, but these guys before us are puppets, not their true selves. Their Rinnegan are fake," Shikaku said.

As the squad leader of Konoha's jōnin squad, he held a high position within the community, so of course he had extensive knowledge of the Pains.

"It seems the most troublesome Pain isn't here."

He had been examining the appearances of the other Pains, but couldn't find the one with the most terrifying power that Minato had mentioned.

Even so, facing such an opponent, they couldn't afford to be careless.

As everyone stared at the Pains, the Animal Path Pain, recreated from other corpses, stood in the center, sneered, and said,

"Kirigakure is about to suffer a devastating disaster. Therefore, outsiders like you will not be allowed to interfere."

The Animal Path formed hand seals and pressed them hard against the ground.

"Summoning Technique!"

....

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